Father's Day in December

Scripture for reflection

Music for meditation

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Dad prompted me to officially begin this ministry on December 14, 2010. I say officially because He has been leading me into it for a while. The only unknown I have in responding to this calling is the financial end of it. In leading me into it though, He asked me if, as Dad, if I also trust Him to be CEO and writer of my checks, to which my wife and I, after prayerful consideration, answered yes.(this explains why this ministry is being provided on a donation basis as well as my only request being that you consult Him in prayer concerning any donation He leads you to give)

Regarding this agreement though, I have to admit something that took place in order to be completely honest and because it becomes significant later on in this writing. Upon submitting to these terms, in jest and what I thought was privately to myself, I told Dad it would be nice though if I were to receive my first “paycheck” soon simply as a token of proof that this is His will (ala, Gideon and the fleece). As I stated, I will be making reference to this incident again shortly as a display of how gracefully Dad loves us and hears the requests of our hearts, no matter how subtle or private we think they may be. In addition, I had received confirmation through agreement on the part of my wife concerning this, so with that we were off.

The following Sunday at church, December 19, our pastor was preaching on the significance of Jesus’ name being Emmanuel, God with us, and whether we trusted that fact or not. In absorbing that question and given the decision we made regarding the ministry, I was led to go to the alter to pray for boldness to continue to walk the path we believe Dad led us on. For one of the first times in my life, I wasn’t going to the alter for direction, but rather boldness to continue in the pointed out direction. Little did I know my responding to this prompting would set off a chain of events on Dad’s part to confirm me in this.

I went to the alter to pray about this and Dad led Liz to come up and pray for me as well. In discussing later what was about to happen, she told me Dad had revealed He was going for the jugular to heal me of a wound I was still carrying, though He didn’t reveal to her what that would look like on my end. With that, she began to pray.

On my end, Dad had manifested my earthly dad who was a Christian and passed away in 1999, in a vision to me as a voice in a cloud. Although I couldn’t see him, the voice was unmistakable. Due to a history that both Dad and my wife have helped me understand and come to terms with along the way in my journey with Him, while alive here on earth, my earthly dad was not always entirely supportive in regards to certain decisions I made along the way in seeking out who I really was in life. In this current encounter, he apologized for that and said thanks to his current Heavenly perspective, he both understood and supported it. Anyone who has ever struggled with a similar issue as such, can appreciate what kind of an impact an encounter as such can have. I got up from sitting down, released, weeping, hugging my wife, and just basking in this gracious moment a bit.

As we were going back to our seats to get our stuff to get ready to leave, a friend of ours came up to me, asked how we were doing and then we shook hands and hugged. He then handed me a check and told him Dad told him to do it. I was overwhelmed by this gesture but accepted it knowing it was true (remember my private request in jest?)

And so our journey into Fields of Grace Ministries begins. We don’t know where it is going to take our family, both nuclear and “extended”, nor do we know how we are going to get there. The only one thing we do know is the only thing we really need to know and that is that Dad is leading. I also know He has been asking me the same question for a while now, it just sounds different at times: Do I trust Him? Am I willing to let the “homeless man” pay my way? In short, am I willing to live by grace? And by that grace, my family and I have answered yes.

That same evening, my father-in-law who went home to be with Dad in January 2008, appeared to me in a dream. He walked past me on a country road and as he did, simply through up his hands and said “Tell em I’m okay Mike.” Thanks to Dad continuously displaying His loving grace through actions such as my Father’s Day in December, my family and I are going to be as well.